Is a DWI a felony in Missouri?
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On the second — Missouri calls it being a persistent offender. A persistent offender — two or more intoxication-related traffic offenses on separate occasions — commits a class E felony. Three or more makes you an aggravated offender and the offense a class D felony. The status also removes options: no suspended imposition of sentence, and no fine instead of a term. One prior where someone was injured or killed is enough to reach persistent status on its own.
Written any number of ways — a 3rd DWI, a DWI 3rd, a felony DWI, or simply a DWI in MO — and the paperwork will use none of them. Missouri charges it under a section number, and that is what decides the range below.
Grade. Class E felony, class D as an aggravated offender
Confinement. No parole or probation before 30 days, or 60 as an aggravated offender
Fine. No fine in lieu of imprisonment
Missouri Revised Statutes § 577.010 · Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 577.010(2), 577.001(1), (18) · checked 2026-09-04
The facts that make a DWI a felony here
Each line below is a separate provision with its own punishment range. They stack with the arithmetic of prior convictions rather than replacing it.
| The fact | What it makes it | Detail and source |
|---|---|---|
| One prior where someone was injured or killed | Persistent offender status on a single prior | The usual route to persistent status is two intoxication-related offenses on separate occasions. But one prior is enough where it involved driving intoxicated and another person was injured or killed — which is how a second arrest can arrive as a felony. Missouri Revised Statutes § 577.001 · Mo. Rev. Stat. § 577.001(18)(b) · checked 2026-09-04 |
The device is a separate track
Missouri offers the interlock as a trade: fit the device and you drive immediately on a 90-day restricted privilege, or skip it and sit out a 30-day hard suspension first. The catch is the exit — your installer must certify you finished violation-free before the device comes off, and without that certificate you serve another 30 days.
In Missouri the interlock term runs 90 days and is administered by Missouri Department of Revenue, Driver License Bureau — which is why a plea that settles the criminal case does not settle the device. What counts as a violation on it, and what an agency adds to the term, is its own arithmetic: violations and lockouts. Getting it off at the end is a procedure of its own too — removal and waivers.
Source: Missouri Department of Revenue, Driver License Bureau
Missouri DWI questions
Is a DWI a felony in Missouri?
On the second — Missouri calls it being a persistent offender. A persistent offender — two or more intoxication-related traffic offenses on separate occasions — commits a class E felony. Three or more makes you an aggravated offender and the offense a class D felony. The status also removes options: no suspended imposition of sentence, and no fine instead of a term. One prior where someone was injured or killed is enough to reach persistent status on its own. One prior where someone was injured or killed: persistent offender status on a single prior.
What does a 3rd DWI in Missouri carry?
Class E felony, class D as an aggravated offender: no parole or probation before 30 days, or 60 as an aggravated offender, and a fine of no fine in lieu of imprisonment. The range is set by Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 577.010(2), 577.001(1), (18), and the figures on this page come from the statute rather than from a summary of it.
What makes it worse in Missouri?
One prior where someone was injured or killed — persistent offender status on a single prior.
Does an interlock come with it in Missouri?
Missouri offers the interlock as a trade: fit the device and you drive immediately on a 90-day restricted privilege, or skip it and sit out a 30-day hard suspension first. The catch is the exit — your installer must certify you finished violation-free before the device comes off, and without that certificate you serve another 30 days. The device requirement and the criminal penalty are separate tracks: one is handled by the court, the other by Missouri Department of Revenue, Driver License Bureau.
Other steps in Missouri: second offense penalties and first offense penalties.
All Missouri DWI rules →Penalties across the states →Missouri DUI lawyers →Getting the license back →
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